This is the sixth entry in the GOTM Practice Series. The goal of all the entries in this series is to not only to describe practice drills, but also make sure you know how to practice with the right mental attitude, something just as important as the physical act.

Out in Arizona now and while hitting balls, I came across the classic problem with hitting golf balls on a range — it’s boring, and tough to keep focus. Everyone knows you’re not “supposed” to just whack balls without focus on the range, but that’s just not easy if you don’t have something to concentrate on.

Don’t ask my why I took this pic vertically.

How

The exact “how” depends on the range you’re hitting at, but the idea is that usually there are usually greens or green like areas on a range. But for each green that you can judge the final position of a shot, you hit 5 balls and get a point for each ball that ends up on the green. A good way to play this game on the range is to play at the start of your range session, and then again at the end and see your improvement.

The greens at the range of Ak-Chin Southern Dunes (pictured above) are perfect for this game, mostly because after 2 pm, they close the range and turn it into a par 3 course. So we had 4 different greens ranging from 85 yards, up to 200 yards. For your range, it might be different.

What to Focus On

Hitting the greens duh. But playing this game will get you to focus on hitting good shots, rather than just hitting golf balls. Also should hopefully add some pressure to a range session if you’ve hit 4/4 greens and need one more for the perfect score.